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Money in the Bank 2018
Money in the Bank (2018) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on June 17, 2018, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. It was the ninth event under the Money in the Bank chronology. Event summary Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match Alexa Bliss has made a career out of shocking those who would look to write her off. This might be the biggest one yet: Little Miss Bliss went from Five to Fifteen Feet of Fury as she ascended a ladder to claim victory in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, earning herself a Raw Women’s Title Match opportunity any time over the next year. It speaks to the quality of the field that Bliss — a two-time Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion — was something of an afterthought heading into the match. Between ascendant dark horses (Lana and Ember Moon), a headstrong veteran with a long-term game plan (Natalya, who wanted to win in the hopes of potentially challenging Ronda Rousey), and a foursome of hungry former champions looking to get back to the top (Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Naomi), Bliss seemed to have been written off before the bell even rang. She also appeared to be a non-factor in the beginning of the match, though that proved to be a cunning strategy: The Goddess largely kept out of the more frenzied exchanges, only resurfacing each time someone was close to grabbing the contract for themselves. Naomi and Ember Moon, meanwhile, threw caution to the wind, using the shifting landscape of the bout as literal jumping-off points for their own unique offensive styles. Banks’ me-against-the-world mentality and Natalya’s tendency to focus on one opponent at a time served them less favorably than it did in the last few weeks of Raw: Both Superstars found themselves overwhelmed and caught off-guard down the stretch. Lana mostly tried to win the match the same way she got in it — by taking advantage of whatever situation she could — but she couldn’t quite close the gap with the more experienced Superstars in the match. Charlotte and Becky, meanwhile, largely ended up canceling each other out. If they weren’t working together, they were fighting each other, and that rivalry opened the door for Bliss. After Lynch got the better of Flair in their final scrap of the bout, The Irish Lass Kicker scaled the ladder, and Bliss made her move, tipping the ladder over so Becky landed face-first on another ladder that had been propped up on the turnbuckle. Alexa then scrambled up to the top rung to claim the contract. Now, the ladder is her Mount Olympus, the contract is hers, and Alexa gets to play to her sneak-attack strengths at any time she so chooses. How’s that for a moment of bliss? Carmella vs Asuka Faced for the second year in a row with an impossible task that everyone assumed she was nowhere near ready for, Carmella once again achieved the impossible at WWE Money in the Bank. And for the second year in a row, James Ellsworth helped her do it. The re-emergence of Ellsworth, who was released from his WWE contract late last year after months as Carmella’s henchman, was a truly poetic instance of history repeating itself: Ellsworth infamously helped her win the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at last year’s event, so it was only fitting that he resurfaced to help The Princess of Staten Island in a title match against Asuka that was fast becoming a formality for The Empress of Tomorrow. Speculation leading up to the showdown had mostly been on whether the end of Asuka’s undefeated streak had left the former NXT Women’s Champion too diminished to mount a credible challenge, and the Japanese striker wasted no time dispelling those notions in the most painful fashion imaginable. Carmella’s early confidence was quickly whittled away with each blistering chop, kick and hip-charge from Asuka; The Empress’ opening salvo was so savage that Corey Graves openly wondered if she’d get disqualified. Carmella found some success with her surprisingly deep playbook of submissions and by using Asuka’s aggression against her, waiting for the champion to rev up and then simply getting out of the way so Asuka landed the most damage on herself. Though right as Asuka was moving in for the final push, a mysterious figure cloaked in Asuka’s robe and mask climbed onto the apron. When the individual unmasked to reveal Ellsworth, Asuka was so stunned that a savage kick from Carmella to Asuka’s dome was enough to put The Empress of Tomorrow down for the count. Is this enough to prove that Carmella is truly “better” than Asuka, as she claimed when the reunited duo danced up the ramp? Debatable. But she was clearly more than ready. Nia Jax vs Ronda Rousey Ronda Rousey was more ready than Nia Jax gave her credit for when it came to the various rules and quirks of WWE-style competition. She was ready for the headbutts, ready for the slams, ready for all of it. But neither woman was ready for a Money in the Bank cash-in, and instead it was Alexa Bliss, not Nia or Ronda, who left WWE Money in the Bank as Raw Women’s Champion just 90 minutes after winning the contract. Five Feet of Fury’s intrusion was shocking not just for its historical implications — she’s only the third Superstar to cash in their contract the same night as winning it, and the first woman to do so — but because Rousey had managed to claw back from a smothering offensive effort by Jax to finally tee up her dreaded armbar. The Baddest Woman on the Planet was subjected to the full scope of The Irresistible Force’s arsenal; her game plan mainly focused on peppering Jax with strikes where she could and try to maneuver her way into her dreaded signature hold. That strategy proved easier said than done. Jax had said she challenged Rousey to take her reputation, and The Irresistible Force pulled out all the stops in the effort to expose Rousey as a Superstar who was woefully out of her depth. It seemed, ever so briefly, like she might have been, especially after Jax reversed her first armbar attempt into a gargantuan powerbomb and later incorporated maneuvers like bearhugs and a Samoan Drop. As the match wore on, however, Rousey began to find her footing and her confidence. The punches landed harder. A judo throw hit its mark. And an armbar over the top rope took enough out of Jax that when Rousey finally got the champion in position for the armbar within the ring, even Nia knew she didn’t have enough left in the tank to counter it. And then, Alexa Bliss struck. Ms. Money in the Bank, who had won the contract less than two hours prior, attacked from behind, bashing Rousey in the back with the briefcase to earn “Rowdy” Ronda a disqualification win over the champion. However, after Bliss tossed Rousey over the announce table and brutalized Nia’s arm with the briefcase, it became clear what was about to happen: The cash-in was called, a DDT and Twisted Bliss were administered, and Bliss swiftly became a five-time Women’s Champion. And while Rousey stirred by the commentary table and Bliss paraded back up the ramp, Nia was left dejected in the ring, clutching her arm with all the look of someone who realized that Ronda Rousey was ready after all, but she wasn’t. Results * Money in the Bank ladder match for a women's championship match contract: Alexa Bliss defeated Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Ember Moon, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, and Sasha Banks * Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship: Carmella © defeated Asuka * Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey defeated Nia Jax © by disqualification * Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship This was Bliss' Money in the Bank cash-in match: Alexa Bliss defeated Nia Jax © Other on-screen talent * Ring announcer: JoJo * Interviewer: Charly Caruso * Pre-show panel: Renee Young Image gallery 101_MITB_06172018jg_9231--2cd18aca8a8f98f3bcf95c2c5918dc5d.jpg 102_MITB_06172018kk_8836--8425a6deb101c79d4129d3d50e9c9b8f.jpg 104_MITB_06172018kk_8849--93652a62677457f18132ed19b6a13333.jpg 105_MITB_06172018cm_1019--6b344c3bd637604025f5470b2871c5b2.jpg 106_MITB_06172018cm_1026--0af89281420bd2659f4add7c8cdaaf67.jpg 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Category:WWE pay-per-view events Category:Alexa Bliss Category:Asuka Category:Becky Lynch Category:Carmella Category:Charlotte Category:Charly Caruso Category:Ember Moon Category:JoJo Category:Lana Category:Naomi Category:Natalya Category:Nia Jax Category:Renee Young Category:Ronda Rousey Category:Sasha Banks